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This month has been a tough one for Safe Routes to School supporters. We lost our dedicated federal program funds in the new transportation bill (MAP-21), and overall federal funds for bicycling and walking in general were reduced by 30 percent compared to the previous transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU).

The Connecticut Safe Routes to School program is making progress in providing safe walking and bicycling improvements around schools and communities! The Safe Routes to School infrastructure program just recently completed its fourth funding cycle, awarding more than $3 million in funding. Six awarded projects will benefit nine schools in six communities around the state with improvements such as sidewalk installation, bike lanes, multiuse paths, school zone signs and pavement markings.

The Indiana Safe Routes to School program is alive and well! Having completed six application rounds since its inception in 2006, there are now 114 infrastructure projects and non-infrastructure activities that have been awarded funding in the Hoosier State. For a map of Indiana’s Safe Routes to School awards click here.

The Massachusetts Safe Routes to School program has expanded rapidly over the past year and is poised to surpass the 500 partner mark by the end of 2012. Currently, 485+ schools are participating in the program, serving 42 percent of communities throughout the Commonwealth, impacting more than 220,000 children annually.

As of March 31, 2012, 37 elementary and middle schools in Delaware have ongoing school-level Safe Routes to School programs. This represents about 20 percent of Safe Routes to School-eligible Delaware public schools, including charter schools. Private schools serving students in grades K-8 are also eligible. Six schools in Delaware were awarded consultant planning assistance in January 2012 using federal Safe Routes to School program funding.

Safe Routes to School is on a roll in Washington, DC! The District of Columbia Safe Routes to School program continues to offer Safe Routes to School planning assistance to any school that requests it. Eight schools are currently receiving this assistance, for a total of 30 schools since the start of the program. DC schools are also able to request in-classroom pedestrian safety education for students in grades K-2 and bicycle safety education for students in grades 3-8.

In the most recent application call, Arkansas received 36 applications requesting approximately $7 million dollars in projects. Because of the limited funds only 20 applications were selected with a budget of $1.5 million. As usual, the request for funding far outweighs what is available to applicants.